


The Maiden, The Mother, and the Cardinal

by GaryRKing



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band), Ghost (Swedish Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Humor, My First Fanfic, Sexual Tension, cardi c
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 05:10:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15065852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaryRKing/pseuds/GaryRKing
Summary: A girl is run out of her home and finds herself welcomed into Cardinal Copia's church. A Prohecy unfolds and Copia falls in love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya my Guys. This is pretty much my first fic, so it probably sucks ass. Enjoy.

The Maiden Runs

The evening was clearer than usual on the night Tora Monarch snuck out of her home for the last time. There were no clouds and the stars shone bright on the road she walked. She had left when the sky was still pink with the luminous glow of sunset, and now she was exhausted and had little hope for the future. 

Tora couldn't return home after her family had found her books and attacked her. The lot of them were Christ worshipping fanatics, and when they had found her stash of occult material, they had brought the entire congregation over to hold her down and chant latin at her. To “heal” her from “the tight grip of satan.” Tora and two of her attackers had gotten seriously injured when Tora fought back, and she had run. Her clothes were still coated in blood and now dirt. 

Sirens wailed on the road behind, and Tora ducked into the tree cover. Crouching low, she stared out at the road, waiting for safety. The light from the police cruiser blinded Tora as it passed, and she dropped to the forest floor in defeat. 

Sitting there, on the damp mossy ground, hungry, bloody, and defeated, Tora wanted to cry. She wanted to lie down and give up. This is where most people would do just that. Tora would have, however she noticed that the blinding light hadn't faded, but rather seemed to be moving down the road at a glacial pace. Tora decided to follow the light just ten more steps before she gave up. She stood, brushing her long hair out of her eyes, and walked those ten steps. She walked ten more, and ten more. Counting every step, ignoring the pain, Tora followed the light until well past sunrise.

Exhaustion took her to the ground moments before she would have left the trees and seen where she had been guided to.


	2. The Maiden Hides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora finds her place. She gathers a bit of information from an awful hiding place.

Tora awoke at sunset, coated in dirt and dried blood. Her head was pounding and her body was sore. She looked around to gather her bearings and found that she was utterly lost. The strange light was still there, no longer blinding, now just a small orb of yellow light. Standing stiffly, Tora let tears fall as she began to follow the light once more. A large building was blocking out the dying rays of sunset and Tora’s guide was leading her directly into the surrounding hedge.

No other option presented itself, so Tora squeezed and scraped her way through the sharp bushes, emerging wet with fresh blood and dirtier than before. Looking around, Tora found herself in a churchyard, filled liberally with roses and posies and hyacinth, among other various plants she couldn't identify. As her surroundings darkened with the last drops of daylight melting over the horizon, the guiding light disappeared. This is where Tora was meant to be. 

Stepping lightly, Tora walked toward the building ahead. She could hear music inside and saw the walls were lined with stained glass portraits, lit from inside. The most prominent pictured a nude woman with black wings and bones at her feet. A red horse stood behind the woman, seemingly snorting in anger. Looking idly over the others, she observed many images of death and fire.

The doors began to open and Tora ducked down behind a rose bush. A short man in a red robe stepped out, followed closely by a stout woman in business attire and two men in black robes and masks. The woman spoke. “Cardinal, it's time you settled in. I'll be leaving to arrange the next chapter of the Ghost Project, and I'll return in thirty days. You’d do well to have this church under perfect control by the time I return.”

The man in red, presumably the aforementioned Cardinal, nodded and said, “Yes Sister.” The other two men simply nodded and stepped forward. The woman turned and walked down the path with the masked men following closely behind. Forgetting the Cardinal, Tora sat back on her heels with a sigh of relief that the harsh looking woman had gone. 

A rustle in the grass alerted the hiding girl to the presence of the Cardinal sneaking up beside her. “Who are you and why are you hiding in the bushes like a rat?” he barked. Tora just stared up at him, shocked. 

Imagining how she must look, torn up and dirty, spying from the bushes, Tora shrank even further down onto the ground in fear. Once more, her tiredness got the best of her and she fell back, her eyes closing on the pristine man offering her a gloved hand.


	3. The King Maiden is Introduced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora is introduced to some new people and has a confusing dream.

Tora dreamed. 

She watched as her guiding light formed into the short man from the moments preceding her most recent collapse. He wore a white suit with a tailcoat and was offering her a white rose. “You will be welcome with us, young one. You need only wake up,” he said.

“What is your name?” Tora asked the man. He looked puzzled and put a finger to her lips. 

“I am Cardinal Copia. I am the Papas. I am your light. Hold your tongue when you wake, ecce regina. I haven't met you yet.”

The man disappeared and Tora felt herself returning to a conscious state. Her body ached and her throat was raw. 

When Tora opened her eyes, she was in a small room with a wooden door and brick walls. Light streamed in from a small stained glass window, depicting what seemed to be the corruption of Eve. She glanced around and saw that she was on a thin cot, and there was a bottle of water near her on the floor. Reason told her to avoid it, but the pounding headache and aching throat prompted the dehydrated young woman to drink the entire bottle in what seemed like one second. 

As the bottle fell to the ground, there was a knock on the door. Tora shrank against the wall and stared in the direction of the offending sound. The door creaked open and the man from the day before was there. He put out his leather clad hand and began to speak, “I believe introductions are in order.” He looked at her expectantly. When no such introduction came, he sighed and said, “I am C,”   
He got no further, because Tora blurted his name for him. “Cardinal Copia.” The man nodded and looked down at his chest, as if expecting to see a nametag he had somehow missed.

Frowning, the Cardinal gestured to Tora and said, “And you are?” 

Tora spoke her name shakily before she remembered the warning from the dream figure. “Hold your tongue,” he’d said. “Well,” she thought, “I fucked that one up right away.” She sighed and resolved to stay silent from then on.

“Tora,” spoke the Cardinal in a low voice, “dress in this robe so your clothes may be cleaned. We've run you a bath so you may clean yourself up. Then you'll have your wounds dressed and you will be given clothes to wear to dinner.”

Tora simply nodded and took the robe from him. Copia made no move to leave or even to turn his back. Tora stood watching him and cleared her throat. He jumped and blushed as red as his suit before turning on his heel and rushing out the door, a string of mumbled, “Of course, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean, I, oh Lucifucking hell,” and various other curses could be heard. He slammed the door behind him and Tora began to undress.

Wincing at the pain in her stiff joints, Tora removed her filthy clothes. Her hair was matted with blood and dirt, and the clothes irritated her wounds. She pulled on the dark red satin robe and neatly folded her clothing, setting it on the cot and turning to leave the room. 

With her shoulders back and her head held high, Tora entered the hall to find the Cardinal waiting for her. He looked over her ragged form and nodded, then began to walk away. Tora stood for a moment, unsure of what to do. The Cardinal stopped and gestured for her to follow. Tora blushed red and started after him.

They walked down a long hall and Copia led Tora into a large bathroom with a soaking tub full of bubbles and steaming hot water. “I'll come get you when you finish and take you to dress those wounds,” said the Cardinal. He turned and left Tora to her bath. 

~~~~~

Tora lost track of time soaking in the hot water. Her hair was clean and she was no longer coated in blood and dirt. She had emptied and refilled the tub once she had washed herself, and was reclining in clean, clear water. The young woman felt better than she had in days, and looked better too. Her curly red hair fanned out in the water and covered her breasts. She crossed her legs and let herself snooze.

A nasally voice called from outside the bathroom and Tora awoke with a start, splashing about and reaching for the closest weapon she could find. Her hand closed on a shampoo bottle and she scrambled out of the tub. The voice called again, “Hey, uh… everything alright in there, Tora?” and she realized that the voice belonged to Cardinal Copia. She had made a lot of noise in her scrambling about, and he sounded worried. 

Tora dried her body and wrapped the towel around her hair. She pulled the red robe back on and stepped out into the hall. The Cardinal was now wearing a black suit with a tailcoat. He offered his arm and Tora took it. 

They walked in silence and he led her to a room with medical supplies and a portly woman in a white smock. “This is Sister Joy. She tends to our medical needs here. She'll take you to Sister Faye when you are all stitched up, and Faye will clothe you for dinner. It's formal dress. Be there at 8 ‘O'clock sharp, both of you,” the Cardinal said. Tora and Joy both nodded and watched him leave.   
“He's new at this, forgive him,” spoke Joy. “Please remove your robe.”

Tora flushed red and complied, allowing the woman access to the worst of her wounds. There was a gash on her thigh that needed immediate attention. Tora winced as the older woman disinfected the laceration and glued it closed, wrapping it with a bandage. Most of the cuts only needed to be cleaned, but a few were deep enough to need bandages. Sister Joy finished up and told Tora to put her robe on and follow. 

“This is Faye, just let her fuss over you,” Joy muttered in Tora’s ear as she opened a door a few yards down. 

A high voice lilted through the room and a small woman streaked over to Tora and Joy. “Oh Sweetie, let me look at you!” Faye squeaked, “oh hon. The Cardinal said you were beat up, but darling, you look downright awful!”


	4. The King Maiden Dances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cardinal asks Tora to dance.

Tora shied away from the excessively animated woman. She was short and thin and was already dressed in a tight black dress that swirled around her ankles. Faye kept talking, fussing over Tora, while Joy turned and left the room.

“Let me look at you sweetie. How tall are you?” Faye asked, as she took out a measuring tape. “Six feet tall at least. Oh my. What's this?” She straightened the front of the robe. Embroidered there in red thread was the name, “Cardinal Copia,” and a minute picture of a rat curled comfortably around a rose. The short woman hummed and smiled as she continued taking measurements. 

“Sit down ‘hon, we're going to do your hair and face first,” Faye said, gesturing to a tall chair in front of a mirror. Tora sat down and unwrapped her hair from the towel, letting the long red curls settle over her back. After nearly 40 minutes spent drying the massive amount of thick hair, there were only 25 minutes until dinner. Tora's makeup was kept simple with a wine red lipstick and a smokey eye, and Tora selected a low cut red velvet dress that swept the floor. She was given some black shoes that looked like they were meant for dancing, and was swept out of the room as soon as it was buttoned up.

A clock began to chime as Tora and Faye entered the dining hall. Only about fifteen people were in the room, all dressed impeccably. Tora frowned, looking around for The Cardinal, and not seeing him. The women sat down on high backed chairs and all the people stared over at Tora. There was whispering for a moment and a woman wearing a tight black suit spoke, “You're the girl the Cardinal found in the garden aren't you?”

Tora nodded and blushed red, ashamed her story had gotten around so quickly. Joy smiled at her from the other side of the table and opened her mouth to speak. Her words were cut short by The Cardinal arriving and saying, “As you all see, we have a guest.” He gestured to Tora. “Her name is Tora, and she is fortunate to have arrived on such a monumental day.”

Tora cocked her head slightly, wondering what made the day so special. The Cardinal continued, “Welcome, all, to my promotion party! With Papa Emeritus 1, 2, and 3 having recently passed, I am your new leader!” He looked overjoyed. 

The fading sun wafting through the colorful windows set a mystifying glow over The Cardinal. He smiled widely and rapped his cane twice on the floor. Instantly, the doors swung open and two men came in carrying trays of food. Tora was overcome by her hunger as the men circled the table filling plates. The scent of salmon and roasted potatoes was intoxicating, nearly as intoxicating as The Cardinal looking impeccably beautiful, sitting mere feet away from her. 

Tora caught herself staring and blushed, dropping her eyes down with a smile. The group ate and talked, though Tora remained silent. The woman in the black suit toasted The Cardinal and stood, walking across the room to a piano. Plates were cleared and the room came alive with music and dance. 

Tora retreated to the darkest corner and watched the affair curiously. Her head was buzzing with questions she couldn't ask. Unconsciously, she swayed her hips to the upbeat piano tune and watched The Cardinal chatting with a man in a mask. Her self imposed isolation abruptly ended when Faye flitted over and started chittering introductions in her ear.

“Over there, sweetie,” she said, pointing to the woman at the piano, “is Romaine. All the people in masks are Nameless ghouls, but we here at the church know who they truly are. Oh, that one,” now pointing to a man who may have seemed tall to a woman under 6’ and had blonde wavy hair, “that's Darcy. We don't know his real name, but he's so sweet and respectful that we just called him Mr. Darcy from the start.” 

Tora, if she hadn't been taking care not to speak, would have pointed out that clearly, they did not know who everyone truly was. Instead, she just cocked her head and continued to listen as Faye rattled off the names, titles, occupations, and backstories for everyone in the room, finally leaving only Cardinal Copia to be talked about. “Of course you already know Cardi C. He was just promoted to leader of the church. And boy, are we glad for it. Half the clergy being named Papa was getting a bit annoying.”

Tora let her attention wander to The Cardinal once more. He was twirling around the room, cane in hand, coming right for the corner she was in. Faye finally shut up and walked away, shooting a wink back at Tora. Ducking behind a bench, Tora hoped The Cardinal hadn't seen her yet. Her hopes were dashed when he came to a rest against the bench and began to speak, “I threw a party and you won't even come out of hiding to offer me a dance?” his eyes sparkled with amusement and mischief. “I was hoping you'd at least mingle.”

Tora blushed, but stood, offering the short man her hand. “One dance?” he asked. She nodded and stepped into the center of the room. All eyes were on the pair as Romaine began to play a slow song. Pairs around the room began to dance, Faye and Darcy catching Tora’s eye. 

It was difficult to dance with a man so much shorter than her, but Copia let Tora lead. The pair was graceful, twirling around the room in a joyful dance. Tora dipped her partner and spun him all over, letting her carefree feeling take over. As the song came to an end, The Cardinal released Tora's waist and bowed to the crowd. The night was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for bearing with me on this fic.


End file.
